Venezuela has declared a week of mourning after the death of Hugo Chavez, the
self-styled socialist revolutionary who led the nation for more than 14
years.

Schools and universities will close, giving supporters a chance to pay their respects to Chavez, who will lie in state for three days before he is buried in a state funeral on Friday, the government has announced.

The 58-year-old died on Tuesday after losing his two-year-battle with cancer. The death of Venezuela's charismatic leader has plunged the country into uncertainty.

Hours after Chavez's death, foreign minister Elias Jaua announced that vice-president Nicolas Madurowould lead the country until new elections, which must be called within 30 days.

But there was confusion within Venezuela, because the minister's announcement that Mr Maduro will take the helm in the interim appeared to contradict the constitution, which says that the National Assembly president, currently Diosdado Cabello, takes over the presidency if the president dies.

Fernando Soto Rojas, a member of parliament from Chavez's socialist PSUV party, had said earlier that Mr Cabello must take the helm.

Hugo Chavez salutes as he greets supporters in 2011 Photo: Reuters

And the opposition had also said that the constitution calls for Mr Cabello to take the helm if the president died.

However, Mr Chavez had appointed Mr Maduro as his successor and Venezuela's military chiefs quickly pledged loyalty to him.

After news of his death broke, Chavez supporters poured onto the streets, weeping and chanting "Chavez lives!" and "We are Chavez!".

The mood was sombre in the capital, with hundreds gathering at Plaza Bolivar and outside the military hospital where Chavez was being treated.

Janelis Rangel, 47, a Caracas resident, said: "I'm in so much pain, I'm so sad. But I'm glad because Chavez won't die. He's done so much for us, for the poor. He's done so much for the world. Other presidents are nothing compared to him."

Within minutes of the announcement of Mr Chavez’s death, the Venezuelan national flag was lowered to half mast in Caracas.

Patricia Villegas, a Venezuelan journalist who was outside the military hospital, said: “There were tears, people looked to the sky and gave thanks for the social changes that had been brought about.”

Wilmer Barrientos, strategic commander of the Venezuelan Armed Forces (FAN), told the state broadcaster there was a plan to patrol the country “to defend the Fatherland” in the hours after Chavez’s death.

<noframe>Twitter: Jose E. Serrano - Hugo Chavez was a leader that understood the needs of the poor. He was committed to empowering the powerless. R.I.P. Mr. President.</noframe>

Mr Maduro moved swiftly to replicate the anti-American rhetoric with which his predecessor whipped poverty-stricken supporters into a frenzy.

He told Venezuelans he had no doubt that Mr Chavez’s cancer, which was diagnosed in 2011, was the result of a poisoning by “enemies of our homeland”. The US rejected the claim as “absurd”.

Henrique Capriles Radonski, the country’s opposition leader, cautiously “advocated unity” among Venezuelans, amid fears of disquiet. “My sympathy to all the family and supporters of President Hugo Chavez,” he said in a statement.

Mr Chavez’s daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, spoke of her sadness at her father’s death and urged her compatriots to extend his legacy of self-styled Socialist radicalism.

“I have no words,” she wrote on Twitter. “Eternally, thanks! Strength! We should follow his example. We must continue to build the homeland! Farewell my daddy!”

Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee, said: “I hope his death provides an opportunity for a new chapter in US-Venezuelan relations”.

However Jose Serrano, a Democrat from The Bronx, New York City’s most impoverished borough, hailed Mr Chavez as a leader who “understood the needs of the poor”. “He was committed to empowering the powerless,” Mr Serrano wrote on Twitter. “RIP Mr President”.

Speaking at the United Nations, he described then-president George W Bush as “the devil”. After endorsing Mr Obama in 2008, he later said the young Democratic president had been disappointing and merely extended US wrongdoing.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said he was “saddened” to learn of Mr Chavez’s death.

“As President of Venezuela for 14 years he has left a lasting impression on the country and more widely. I would like to offer my condolences to his family and to the Venezuelan people at this time.”

Amadou Boudou, the vice-president of Argentina, expressed his “great sorrow for the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez”, stressing that sympathy was felt across the region.

“There is great pain in all of America,” he said. “He was one of the best. Farewell, Commander.”

Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people to “mourn the irreparable loss to Venezuela and the region.” President Fernando Cordero sent a tribute to the Chavez family.

Mr Chavez returned to Venezuela from Cuba last month, but this most outgoing of leaders had failed to make any public appearances, causing rumours of his demise to sweep Caracas.

The president’s health had been a closely-guarded secret, and the nature of his cancer had never been officially disclosed.

Mr Maduro would probably face Mr Capriles, the opposition leader, in elections next month. The 50-year-old vice-president is a loyal “Chavista”, but lacks the charisma that allowed his mentor to win four successive elections.

Mr Capriles lost a presidential election against Mr Chavez last year. A contest against Mr Maduro, who is embattled against internal party opponents, may give Venezuela’s opposition a renewed chance.

In 2002, Mr Chavez was briefly toppled in a coup, before being restored by popular demonstrations. His allies believe the US was behind that episode. Constant attacks on America and claims that Washington seeks Mr Chavez’s downfall have been themes of his rule.